Box Score Dec. 31, 2010
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After enduring all the travel hassles to make it out to California you would think the Fordham University men's basketball squad would want to spend some more time in the Golden State. But after the last two games the Rams can't wait to get back to the Bronx as Santa Clara proved to be a rude host of the 44th annual Cable Car Classic, upending Fordham, 85-70, in the consolation game in the Leavey Center.
With the loss, the Rams even their record at 6-6 on the year while Santa Clara improves to 8-7.
The game between the two Jesuits schools was one of more than 90 games that will be played this season as part of the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight (JBS).
Tonight's game was decided at the free throw line as the Broncos scored 30 of their 85 points from the charity stripe while the Rams only netted 14 points from the free throw line.
The loss overshadowed a powerful offensive game from Brenton Butler, who netted a season-high 28 points, tying his season-high with five three-pointers and converting all seven of his free throws. He was named to the Cable Car Classic All-Tournament team.
Chris Gaston also had a strong game for the Rams, notching his ninth double-double of the year with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
The Rams started off slowly for the second straight night only tonight they found themselves down 2-0 before the game even started as a Brian Freeman was called for dunking during pregame warm-ups and Santa Clara was awarded two free throws prior to the opening tip.
That 2-0 was lead was extended to 5-0 a minute into the game before Gaston got the Rams on the board with a layup ten seconds later.
But the Fordham offense struggled as the Broncos used an 8-2 spurt to take a 13-4 lead on a Niyi Harrison layup just over six minutes into the game.
Santa Clara led by eight, 19-11, with 11:46 left in the half when Gaston netted four straight points for the Rams over the next two minutes to help Fordham pull to within four, 19-15.
After the teams exchanged baskets, Santa Clara erupted with an 11-2 run to take a 32-19 lead following a pair of Marc Trasolini free throws with 6:58 remaining in the half. But the Rams responded with a 15-2 run to cut their deficit to two, 34-32, on a Butler three-pointer with just over three minutes on the clock. Kervin Bristol started the run with a tip-in and Branden Frazier and Butler sandwiched threes around a Santa Clara free throw. An Alberto Estwick jumper was followed by another Bronco free throw before Butler capped the drive with a second three-pointer.
Trasolini halted the Fordham run with a three-pointer for Santa Clara with 2:39 left in the half and the Broncos took a 42-37 lead into the break.
The Rams trailed by five again early in the second half, 47-42, following a Gaston layup 2:24 into the half when Santa Clara netted five straight points to take a 52-42 lead with 15:17 left. A
Marvin Dominique jumper 27 seconds later pulled the Rams to within eight, 52-44, but a three-pointer and a jumper from the Broncos put Santa Clara up 13, 57-44, with 13:36 remaining and the closest the Rams would get from that point would be nine, 66-57, on a Butler three with 8:22 left.
Frazier finished with eleven points and a season-high eight assists for the Rams while Dominique added nine points and four rebounds.
The Rams will next be in action on Wednesday, January 5th, as they host the Temple University Owls, three-time defending Atlantic 10 champions, in the IZOD Center at 7:00 p.m.
Notes
The game was the third between the Rams and Santa Clara and the Broncos now lead the all-time series, 2-1... Fordham is now 3-7 all-time against schools from the West Coast Conference... Butler's 28 points brings his career total to 1,321, good for 12th on the Fordham career scoring list, two points behind Bill Langheld (1965-68) for 11th place... He hit the five three-pointes after being held without a three-pointer the previous two games... Butler's five three-pointers brings his career total to 196, moving him ahead of Dave Buckner and into fourth place on the Fordham all-time list, 18 behind Bevon Robin (1997-2001) and Jermaine Anderson (2002-06) who are tied for third on the list... Butler's previous season scoring high was 25 at Lehigh... He now has four 20-point games this year and 19 in his career... Gaston now has 28th career double-doubles... Fordham was outrebounded by Santa Clara, 41-35, only the second time this year that the Rams have been outrebounded... The 30 free throws made and the 40 attempts are both season-highs for a Fordham opponent as are the 41 rebounds grabbed by the Broncos.
